Guide: Bizzarrini P538 Ital Design Manta
Background
After successful stints at Fiat, Bertone and Ghia, Giorgetto Giugiaro set up his own studio, Ital Design.
Established in February 1968, Ital Design made its salon debut later that year at Italy’s most important event, the Turin Motor Show, which opened on October 30th.
To garner maximum publicity, Giugiaro wanted to showcase a high performance design concept.
A mid-engined prototype racing car would provide the ideal basis for his low slung vision of the future.
The FIA’s decision to impose a three-litre engine limit on Group 6 Prototypes for 1968 had left a raft of cars obsolete. However, sourcing such a car would not necessarily be easy.
Ferrari’s exclusive arrangement with Pininfarina plus strong demand from collectors meant there was no prospect of purchasing anything suitable from Maranello.
Enquiries were made at Alfa Romeo and, although nothing was immediately forthcoming, Ital Design did manage to secure a Tipo 33 Stradale rolling chassis one year later.
Maserati had been out of top flight for racing for several years and, although Lamborghini did have a mid-engine platform (the Miura), the chances of sourcing a bare chassis from the Bertone-aligned firm were practically non-existent.
Instead, for his first project, Giugiaro turned to one of Italy’s low volume racing car manufacturers: Bizzarrini.
Bizzarrini P538
By 1968, Giotto Bizzarrini had given up hope of an outright Le Mans victory and the car he had designed for this purpose, the P538, was just another old racer with nowhere left to run. The Livorno firm was also perennially short of cash so Giugiaro was able to acquire P538 chassis 003 at a competitive rate.
With a state-of-the-art tubular spaceframe and 400bhp Chevrolet V8, the P538 would provide suitably potent underpinnings for Giugiaro’s ray-inspired Manta.
Bodywork
Impossibly low and wide, the Manta took the Turin Motor Show by storm.
The front housed a pair of partially enclosed headlights either side of a full width intake aperture.
Beneath the windscreen were three retractable blinds that could be opened to improve driver visibility.
A continuous curve ran from nose to tail and pioneered a ‘one-box’ design approach hitherto unseen.
The Kamm tail fascia featured a slim horizontal glass panel to complement the primary rear windscreen that conformed to the fastback body line.
Drilled side sills were painted silver to contrast the otherwise metallic turquoise body. Bright orange engine cooling vents were carved out from the sail panels.
Interior
Inside, Giugiaro opted for a three-seat layout with the driver located centrally.
A deep dish steering wheel projected way out from the main dash and added to the Manta’s space-age aura.
The gear shift was on the driver’s right hand-side and a couple of essential switches were located off to the left.
The extent to which the P538 had been transformed was remarkable. It established Ital Design as a serious player in the auto design sector.
Subsequent History
The Manta’s debut appearance made the cover of the March 1969 edition of Road & Track.
It was later repainted red with white and dark blue centre stripes. In this colour scheme, 003 was displayed at the 1969 Tokyo Racing Car Show and 1969 Los Angeles Auto Expo.
On the way back from LA, the car mysteriously went missing.
003 resurfaced ten years later at a Genoa Port customs auction and was purchased by Giovanni Giordanengo who restored it.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Ital Design - http://www.italdesign.it
